Orna Purkin

Orna grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. From a young age, she sang and played the piano, and eventually got a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Witwatersrand. Orna always dreamed of living in America, and in 1993 was thrilled to receive a scholarship to study Film Scoring at the world-famous Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she discovered her passion for singing jazz standards. She was on the Berklee Dean’s List and invited to join the President’s Club. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1995 and moved to Los Angeles.

In 1998 Orna started working at Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., first as an Administrative Assistant and then as a Copyright Coordinator. She quit her “day job” in 2000 to take the opportunity to sing on the inaugural run of the Carnival Victory ship for 3 months, traveling to the eastern and western Caribbean. Thereafter, she became a Leader and then Ambassador for Weight Watchers, facilitating motivational discussions at various entertainment companies including E! Networks, CBS, Fox Networks, Paramount, and WGA.